theater of the absurd - plays stressing the irrational or illogical aspects of life, usually to show that modern life is pointless; "Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco have written plays for the theater of the absurd"

movement, move, motion - the act of changing location from one place to another; "police controlled the motion of the crowd"; "the movement of people from the farms to the cities"; "his move put him directly in my path"

stroke, shot - (sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand; "it took two strokes to get out of the bunker"; "a good shot requires good balance and tempo"; "he left me an almost impossible shot"

attempt, effort, try, endeavor, endeavour - earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something; "made an effort to cover all the reading material"; "wished him luck in his endeavor"; "she gave it a good try"

8.

play - activity by children that is guided more by imagination than by fixed rules; "Freud believed in the utility of play to a small child"

diversion, recreation - an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation"

house - play in which children take the roles of father or mother or children and pretend to interact like adults; "the children were playing house"

doctor - children take the roles of physician or patient or nurse and pretend they are at the physician's office; "the children explored each other's bodies by playing the game of doctor"

alteration, change, modification - an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another; "the change was intended to increase sales"; "this storm is certainly a change for the worse"; "the neighborhood had undergone few modifications since his last visit years ago"

12.

play - verbal wit or mockery (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously); "he became a figure of fun"; "he said it in sport"

diversion, recreation - an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation"

move - (game) a player's turn to take some action permitted by the rules of the game

starting, start - a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning); "he got his start because one of the regular pitchers was in the hospital"; "his starting meant that the coach thought he was one of their best linemen"

attack - an offensive move in a sport or game; "they won the game with a 10-hit attack in the 9th inning"

down - (American football) a complete play to advance the football; "you have four downs to gain ten yards"

at-bat, bat - (baseball) a turn trying to get a hit; "he was at bat when it happened"; "he got four hits in four at-bats"

lead - the playing of a card to start a trick in bridge; "the lead was in the dummy"

trumping, ruff - (card games) the act of taking a trick with a trump when unable to follow suit

trick - (card games) in a single round, the sequence of cards played by all the players; the high card is the winner

16.

play - the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize); "his gambling cost him a fortune"; "there was heavy play at the blackjack table"

diversion, recreation - an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation"

bid, call - make a demand, as for a card or a suit or a show of hands; "He called his trump"

play out - play to a finish; "We have got to play this game out, even thought it is clear that we have last"

2.

play - act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome; "This factor played only a minor part in his decision"; "This development played into her hands"; "I played no role in your dismissal"

act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"

behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

act, play, represent - play a role or part; "Gielgud played Hamlet"; "She wants to act Lady Macbeth, but she is too young for the role"; "She played the servant to her husband's master"

9.

play - move or seem to move quickly, lightly, or irregularly; "The spotlights played on the politicians"

go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"

10.

play - bet or wager (money); "He played $20 on the new horse"; "She plays the races"

perform - give a performance (of something); "Horowitz is performing at Carnegie Hall tonight"; "We performed a popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera"

playact, roleplay, act, play - perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"

15.

play - put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game; "He is playing his cards close to his chest"; "The Democrats still have some cards to play before they will concede the electoral victory"

play - employ in a game or in a specific position; "They played him on first base"

behave, act, do - behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people"

act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"

play - act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome; "This factor played only a minor part in his decision"; "This development played into her hands"; "I played no role in your dismissal"

18.

play - cause to emit recorded audio or video; "They ran the tapes over and over again"; "I'll play you my favorite record"; "He never tires of playing that video"

trifle, dally, play - consider not very seriously; "He is trifling with her"; "She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania"

act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel"

24.

play - cause to move or operate freely within a bounded space; "The engine has a wheel that is playing in a rack"

move, displace - cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant"

25.

play - perform on a stage or theater; "She acts in this play"; "He acted in `Julius Caesar'"; "I played in `A Christmas Carol'"

create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor"

work, act - have an effect or outcome; often the one desired or expected; "The voting process doesn't work as well as people thought"; "How does your idea work in practice?"; "This method doesn't work"; "The breaks of my new car act quickly"; "The medicine works only if you take it with a lot of water"

28.

play - discharge or direct or be discharged or directed as if in a continuous stream; "play water from a hose"; "The fountains played all day"

encounter, take on, meet, play - contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle; "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary"

promote - change a pawn for a better piece by advancing it to the eighth row, or change a checker piece for a more valuable piece by moving it to the row closest to your opponent

play - put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game; "He is playing his cards close to his chest"; "The Democrats still have some cards to play before they will concede the electoral victory"

apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer"

33.

play - employ in a game or in a specific position; "They played him on first base"

encounter, take on, meet, play - contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle; "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary"

play - put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game; "He is playing his cards close to his chest"; "The Democrats still have some cards to play before they will concede the electoral victory"

apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer"

34.

play - contend against an opponent in a sport, game, or battle; "Princeton plays Yale this weekend"; "Charlie likes to play Mary"

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